Most know that it has been proven that exercise does help to slow the progression of Parkinson's Disease. I personally, have been able to experience and learn this first hand over the course of the past four years. Four years ago this past September, is when I began to exercise with Rock Steady Boxing on a weekly basis. And over time I have learned from the way that my body has responded, that my exercise is equally as important as taking my carbidopa-levadopa. That is how much it helps me!
When I first started Rock Steady Boxing, I was very discouraged because exercising was extremely challenging for me. It challenged me in ways that made me feel unsafe in my own body. But I never gave up and I stuck to it and before long, I was able reap the long term benefits of exercising consistently and now I will never ever stop! Enter a random text message I received on September 6, 2019 at 8:30 pm, from Ned Neuhaus, my friend whom changed my life and introduced me to Rock Steady Boxing four years prior. His text read this... "Jo Jo is a RSB coach in Charlottesville. He is going to row 1 million meters in 2020 for Parkinson's Awareness. I told him you and I would do it too! Hope that is ok with you!" I had many initial thoughts to this text but the bottom line was that I was in! I don't generally challenge myself to these type of extremes because I feel challenged enough from day-to-day. However, this is the second fitness challenge Ned has presented to me and I love it! Our first challenge that we conquered together was the Spartan in June 2019. It was so fun and such a memorable experience! And so although I stuck to my original desire to accept this challenge because HECK YES, it took me a while to conceptualize what that would actually look like for my year if I had a goal to row a million meters. Even though I wanted nothing more than to be able to say that I conquered rowing a million meters in a year, I knew the reality of what my hours, days, weeks, months and eventually the year would look like. I felt like I had a lot to consider when accepting a challenge of this nature. I was eager to make my challenge a good fit for me! As all people with Parkinson's know that each day is different in regards to how we feel. Specifically to me, I wanted to factor in my "off times" which generally begin around 3:30 pm and have been known to last all the way until I go to bed. These "off times" may or may not be impacted by the fact of whether or not I have exercised that day. Furthermore, it is helpful if I have time in my day to sit down and allow my body to take a short rest and I am not always guaranteed this time. The main reason that it is very important that I keep the best balance possible of my symptoms from day to day is because a lot of little people rely on me. Not only my own two boys, but also the children that I am trusted with to watch each week day in my home. Another equally significant factor are my hormone levels as a result of my menstrual cycle. Even though there is somewhat a factor of predictability from month to month, it is not completely. What I mean is that the severity of how my hormone levels will actually affect my symptoms in any given month is never something I will know. Sometimes I really do not feel good and I have to allow myself that time to just not feel good. Like I said, I knew I was up for the challenge, but I wanted to make the my goal something that was a good fit for me. After thinking it through, I decided for my personal goal to be to row 500,000 meters in a year while we strive to raise awareness of Parkinson's! Meters Rowed: 3073 Meters Total in 2020: 500,000
I am most excited because this is going to keep me moving more than I generally would have all year long! I wanted a goal that was obtainable. I want to be able to reach my goal and feel proud of myself and excited that I conquered it! 500,000 meters is going to be a great challenge for me to work towards all year and I plan to keep you updated on my progress throughout the year! To me, a year is a long time. So much goes into a whole year. So many up and downs, good days and bad, as well as good memories or even losses. But I am feeling ready for this fresh start and this new challenge for 2020! I made the promise to myself long ago to keep moving forward no matter what each day brings. And although I continue to sorely miss one of my biggest fans, Bentley dog, more and more each day, I have to understand that I am going to come out stronger as long as I never give up and keep fighting to feel my best!
